Articles Archive for May 2005

Geeks and early adopters aren’t necessarily the most grounded folks – we tend to jump at the newest technologies and, in many cases, are willing to roll the dice on a chance that these technologies will pay off personally. That’s certainly been the case with me.

It’s the US Memorial Day holiday weekend in the US, time to hit the road and welcome the unofficial start of summer. This week features music perfect for road-tripping.Steve Pierson, BB Chung King and the Buddaheads, Kelly Bell Band, Billy V and the Smoking Section, and Delta Chuck with us down the highway with listener comments, contact information, podcasting news, and blues news serving as the mile markers. It’s the finest blues you’ve never heard – the best independent blues artists from garageband.com.

√¢‚Ç¨≈ìThere I was sitting in my little laundry room office in the middle of flyover country, listening to my show on [Adam Curry√¢‚Ç¨‚Ñ¢s] PodShow on Sirius and another from KYOU San Francisco simultaneously. I got to strut around the house for about ten minutes before my wife said √¢‚Ç¨Àúokay, don√¢‚Ç¨‚Ñ¢t quit your day job.√¢‚Ç¨‚Ñ¢√¢‚Ç¨¬ù

I’ve always seen a roadhouse as a place where you put on your good clothes on a Saturday night, and kick up your heels before judgement on Sunday. Act the fool. Drink a few too many. Wink at the pretty girl just to be ornery. The aural scene of that, to me, is danceable blues, often with horns, always with a strong guitar, and preferably with a jumpin’ harp.

In general, these are some of my own concerns about the station. These
are the specific concerns that prompted my comment on Michael’s show
that I wouldn’t submit further shows to KYOU. You and I discussed a
few of these yesterday.

As I’ve now been through the submission, airing and listening process with them, I feel a bit more qualified to speak to the issues. Given that I’m a much better writer than speaker, I asked Steve for a day or two to formalize my concerns in an email. That email went out a bit ago. It was very, very long and contains what I see as the biggest personal concerns regarding their process and model. I also tried to address many of the issues I’ve seen in the abundance of discussions around this topic.

“Podcasting: Do It Yourself” is by Todd Cochrane, the voice behind GeekNewsCentral. Todd’s been cranking out podcasts pretty regularly since October, 2004. I’ve had him in my subscriptions list since I started following podcasting. It’s good to see that he’s managed to pull together 312 pages covering all the important aspects of podcasting:

The last segment was great fun. We talked about Ted Nugent and Starz and swapped other great stories of concerts we’ve attended. Michael tells me he’s gotten lots of email about that segment – most of which asked when he was going to do another. Since that time, also, Michael has become part of the Podshow lineup. And, on Tuesday, we each inhabited a segment of Adam Curry’s Podshow on Sirius 148. Our early rock experiences are so similar that we could be brothers from a different mother.

The Roadhouse 014 is available for download from the above image link. The 14th edition of The Roadhouse gets down to the real juke joint feel. This week, I feature Bernie Clarke and the Rhythm Sharks, Rick Carroll and Wicked Blue, Loren Schulte, Blind Slim, Kelley Richey Band, and more. And, we cut loose on […]

I’ve added another podcast to the Podcast Feeds in the right sidebar. As a sometime writer, it shouldn’t surprise you that I’m attracted to The Word Nerds. Each week, Dave and Howard focus on words, their meaning, use, and misuse. It’s a well done ‘cast, chock full of interesting stuff in every episode.

Sheila picks up on the mentions from Doc: Doc Searls has pointed more than once to the best podcast around, the one exception to generally dismal podcasting, Tony Steidler-Dennison’s weekly The Roadhouse (Subhed: The finest blues you’ve never heard). His secret: He spreads the best by unsigned blues bands at garageband.com. I’d take some exception […]

Doc had more kind words for The Roadhouse late last week: Taking it real slow on my drive back to Santa Barbara from an excellent DIDW. Meaning I stop often to snooze or eat or otherwise avoid driving while sleepy. Getting ready to leave a Starbucks in Salinas, load up with fresh podcasts. Crucial for […]

It’s the triskaidekaphobia edition of The Roadhouse – warding off the fear of the number 13 with a black cat bone and a bird’s nest on the ground. This week’s edition features West Side Wayne and the Boulevard Band, JJ Blues Band, Shannon Boshears, The Bluesters, Melissa Forbes, and five other geat blues artists. Grab your lucky charm and hold on tight for the finest blues you’ve never heard.

Thanks to Trevor Cook for a link to a podcasting piece on the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette site: For music fans, it’s a way to hear new music or niche music not heard over the airwaves. For musicians, it’s a way to get exposure via sites such as "The Roadhouse," "the finest blues you’ve never heard," and […]

The Roadhouse 012 is available for download from the above image link. Straight off the grill, The Roadhouse 012 serves up some hot blues chops. Kings, The Griswolds, Wade Elmore, Autumn Daydreams, Mark Buck, and more serve as the entrees. Appetizers include listener comments, contact information, podcasting news, and blues news. It’s a heaping helping […]

So, that’s the lowdown on the increased commerce inquiries on The Roadhouse site. It does come with a pledge: a) I’ll continue to focus commerce recommendations on merchandise that I have actual experience with, related to podcasting, blues or programming, and b) you’ll always know where your kind and clearly voluntary contributions are being spent. I think they’ll really only help to improve The Roadhouse.

Since they’re now buried in the show notes for Roadhouse 011, I thought I’d move the links to the definitive Peter Guralnick blues books back up top. Sweet Soul Music: Rhythm and Blues and the Southern Dream of FreedomFeels Like Going Home: Portraits In Blues and Rock ‘n’ RollLost Highways: Journeys and Arrivals of American […]

I don’t know how I missed this. The Podcast Pickle has been live since March 28. What, you ask, is a podcast pickle? Simply put, it looks like the most comprehensive podcast directory out there. It includes full summaries of podcasts, with the capability both to listen to and to download shows. It offers podcasters […]